Approximately one million elderly Americans suffer from dementia and an even larger number of persons suffer from watching the downhill progression of the disease in a spouse, parent, sibling or friend. The family is the primary care unit for these patients and there is a growing consensus among gerontologists that new methods are needed to support families in their caregiving capacities. This research is designed to evaluate the efficacy of support groups for caregivers of elderly patients diagnosed as having primary degenerative or multi-infarct dementia. Group treatment will be compared with a waiting list control group. Subjects who will be referred from a concurrent NIMH funded family study of dementia will be 40 primary caregivers of dementia patients. Allowing for a 30% dropout rate the final sample will consist of 28 subjects. Outcome will be assessed by change in depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, feelings of burden, and changes in number and intensity of pleasurable events in which subjects participate. Additional information for assessing outcome will be provided by a questionnaire containing items pertaining to help seeking behaviors of the caregivers, and time spent away from the patient. The subjective view of the caregiver about such issues as finances and institutionalization will also be assessed. Assessments will be done at pre and post treatment and at a 8-10 week follow-up for the treatment group. The waiting list control group will be assessed 8-10 weeks before treatment begins, pre and post treatment and at 8-10 week follow-up. Four groups will be conducted. Each group will meet one and one half hours once a week, for 8 weeks. Groups will be co-led. Provided that the outcomes of the research are favourable, this program may serve as a cost-effective model to geriatric health care professionals for the secondary treatment of senile dementia.